appellative Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others
    appellation; designation; denomination.
  2. adjective pertaining to or dealing with or used as a common noun
  3. adjective satellite inclined to or serving for the giving of names
    naming.
    • the appellative faculty of children
    • the appellative function of some primitive rites

WordNet

Ap*pel"la*tive adjective
Etymology
L. appellativus, fr. appellare: cf. F. appelatif. See Appeal.
Definitions
  1. Pertaining to a common name; serving as a distinctive denomination; denominative; naming. Cudworth.
  2. (gram.) Common, as opposed to proper; denominative of a class.
Ap*pel"la*tive noun
Etymology
L. appelativum, sc. nomen.
Definitions
  1. A common name, distinction from a proper name. A common name, or appellative, stands for a whole class, genus, or species of beings, or for universal ideas. Thus, tree is the name of all plants of a particular class; plant and vegetable are names of things that grow out of the earth. A proper name, on the other hand, stands for a single thing; as, Rome, Washington, Lake Erie.
  2. An appellation or title; a descriptive name.
    God chosen it for one of his appellatives to be the Defender of them. Jer. Taylor.

Webster 1913